A food drive sponsored by four of Iowa State’s fraternities and sororities will be held in Ames Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Omicron Pi, Triangle and Farmhouse are sponsoring a food drive to help replenish three food lockers in Ames including Bethesda Lutheran, 1517 Northwestern Ave.; Jesus’ Right Hand, 213 Main St.; and Mid-Iowa Community Action, 113 Colorado Ave.

Herb Strasser, advisor to Alpha Phi Omega, said this is Alpha Phi Omega’s third annual food drive, but this year they are taking it to a larger scale.

The last two food drives were just what the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity could handle, Strasser said. This year’s food drive will canvas the whole city of Ames, covering more than 700 homes.

Strasser is recruiting 60 members from the four fraternities and sororities to assist in the collection. “Pantries are looking for all the help they can get for the holiday season,” Strasser said.

Hy-Vee and Save-U-More have donated more than 13,000 collection bags that will be distributed inside the Advertiser on Oct. 15.

Nonperishable food items need to be placed in the bags and left directly below mailboxes to be picked up on Saturday.

Recipients of the food banks must be residents of Story County and be in need of assistance to collect food from the pantries.

About 100 families per month receive donated food from Mid-Iowa Community Action.

They gave out enough food last year to make 30,000 meals.

Mid-Iowa limits the number of times recipients are able to collect food to once every three months unless an emergency situation arises.

Kathy Vilmont, director of Jesus’ Right Hand, said their main policy is that recipients can only get food from its pantry three times in six months.

“We are an emergency food pantry,” she said.